Sideways Sammy

There’s no shame in losing away at the second-placed team in the division, but it felt as if Coventry City let an opportunity to pick up a result that could have redefined the stage they are at pass them by via a combination of questionable team selection and a couple of individual errors. With Southampton and Leeds United coming up over the next week, it places extra emphasis on picking up a win in this derby encounter with Birmingham City to avoid this recent resurgence quickly coming a cropper.

The Blues sit one point above Coventry City, having won just one game since making the bold decision to replace John Eustace – who had the team in 6th place – with Wayne Rooney in October. Similarly desperate for a result to put them back on track to where they feel they should be, this is a clash between two sides with high hopes that are struggling for form. Unless some key individuals step up with moments of brilliance, this has the makings of an attritional contest.

Expected Line-Up

It was understandable why Mark Robins made changes to the side that beat Millwall and Plymouth Argyle, given the congested fixture list, but replacing the running and pace of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Haji Wright with centrally-minded midfield players, Yasin Ayari and Jamie Allen, robbed the team of the directness that had worked so well in recent games. The manager’s half-time changes against Ipswich Town were an admission of the error he made and it is to be expected that he will correct it here by restoring Sakamoto to the starting line-up and pushing Wright into a wide left position.

That seems to leave two positions up for grabs, the central striking role and one of the three midfield spots. For the former, it feels like it’s time for Ellis Simms to be given a run in the team to try and build some form and confidence following a stop-start first few months at Coventry City. However, Mark Robins has continually backed Matt Godden to start games over the years, in spite of form, fitness and the talents of other players, and could well continue to be given the nod for the time being.

As for the remaining central midfield role, it’s a call between Jamie Allen and Callum O’Hare. With the latter having looked sharper against Ipswich Town than he has since his return from injury, there’s a case for starting him here to give the team more attacking thrust in the middle and allowing Ben Sheaf to influence the game from a deeper midfield role. With Kasey Palmer possibly available from the bench there is less of a need to save O’Hare for the later stages of the game and perhaps this is where he can begin to be unleashed at something closer to his best form.

Last Time We Met

It was during those heady final weeks of last season where suddenly everything opened up for Coventry City to make the play-offs. In the final home game of the campaign, there was a possibility that the Sky Blues could secure a top six finish with a victory over Birmingham City on a sunny afternoon at a packed-out CBS Arena. The excitement, expectation and anxiety was palpable, but that was quickly unleashed into a primal roar when Josh Eccles rolled home a finish right in front of the noisy corner after a typically undefendable slaloming Viktor Gyokeres run to set him up.

The lead was doubled and the win was secured just before half-time when the referee blew for a penalty for a pretty innocuous handball from Birmingham City’s Jordan James, with Viktor Gyokeres converting the spot-kick. The second-half was a non-event as the Sky Blues sat on their lead against a toothless Blues outfit, providing opportunities for Gyokeres to put a gloss on the final score on the break which didn’t quite come off. In the end, the win didn’t quite seal a play-off spot but meant that Coventry City only had to avoid defeat at Middlesbrough to do so, which they did rather comfortably.

The Opposition

The Manager – Wayne Rooney

After years of getting by with a meagre budget and ramshackle squad at a crumbling St Andrew’s stadium, a summer takeover heralded the start of a new era for Birmingham City and off the back of some investment, a coherent recruitment plan and a makeover of their home stadium, they were flying during the early part of the campaign under former Coventry City academy graduate, John Eustace. However, the club’s owners took the bold decision of parting ways with Eustace, citing a desire for ‘no fear football’, which led to the appointment of Wayne Rooney in October, which has started disastrously.

Rooney hasn’t been aided by either the timing of his appointment mid-season in the wake of a popular predecessor and also being without Liam Rosenior, who had been a key reason why he had shown promise in his first managerial posting at Derby County a few years ago. The owners have set Wayne Rooney up for failure, with that ‘no fear football’ statement hanging heavily over every decision, performance and result. Rooney has effectively been forced into playing an attacking style with a squad that is not set up to do so, with results also reflecting a regression to the mean after a hot streak to start the season with.

Who To Look Out For?

There was a definitive shift at Birmingham City over the summer to inject the squad with young, dynamic and pacey players having spent much of the previous few years with a squad held together by veterans and kids that no other teams wanted. Chief among Birmingham’s recruitment drive has been Siriki Dembele, Jay Stansfield and Koji Miyoshi, providing the team with unpredictability and a cutting edge in the final third. Dembele is a rapid, fleet-footed wide player who beats defenders for fun, Stansfield is a withdrawn forward with excellent close control and an eye for goal, while Miyoshi is a versatile and evasive attacker with great skill who can ghost into scoring positions.

With a trio of hard to contain attacking players, finding the right structure around them has been the challenge for Birmingham City this season. Defensive midfielder, Krystian Bielik is excellent at holding fort in front of the defence, with Juninho Bacuna occasionally providing moments of magic alongside him making it difficult to find a place for academy graduate and Wales starter, Jordan James, to get a run in the side.

In attack, Birmingham City may be missing a centre-forward who fits the team’s style of play but Oliver Burke’s physicality and pace can be useful even if he is more of a winger than a central striker, meaning that Lukas Jutkiewicz remains an important player as a reference point in the final third, even if his mobility is increasingly limited. The poacher, Scott Hogan, is another option as someone who can possibly benefit from the chaos caused by Miyoshi, Stansfield and Dembele, but his lack of involvement in the play aside from scoring is an issue.

At the back, Dion Sanderson is a key organising figure for Birmingham City after finally signing a permanent deal over the summer following earlier loan spells, although the question with him is whether he has the ability on the ball to play in a team looking to dominate possession. Emmanuel Aiwu is another pacey presence at the back, while Cody Drameh and Lee Buchanan in either full-back role provide further cover for Blues’ high-line. At odds with that approach is the veteran presence of John Ruddy in goal, who remains important for his shot-stopping but isn’t the quickest coming off his line to cover for the back-line.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

These are two fairly similar teams that have a broad idea of wanting to play attractive, possession-based football but are probably better off playing on the counter over the short-term due to their relative strengths and weaknesses. It makes for a potentially interesting contest where each side will want to control of the game, which could well leave them open for the quick, attacking players on the other team to take advantage of.

As the home team, Coventry City are likely to want to play on the front-foot here but the question is whether this team has the players to turn long spells of possession into good chances and goals. While the likes of Liam Kitching, Ben Sheaf and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto may be capable of influencing the game on the ball, this team has continually struggled this season when asked to dictate the game to the opposition. Finding ways to move the ball quickly into Sakamoto and Haji Wright will be important, rather than looking to intricately find a route towards goal.

Whether Birmingham City will look to sit in to contain Coventry City in order to generate opportunities on the counter is doubtful. Their away games under Wayne Rooney have been open as he has instructed his team to press high to try and force the issue. The idea is that their quick back-line can bail them out if teams look to play over their press but if the Sky Blues can get that ball out of defence right, that could well expose the opposition to quick attacking exchanges that this team is capable of at its best.